Dravid bridges the old and the new

Sachin Tendulkar batted at one net. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma had a hit at the others. India's go-to man stood in between, watching it all attentively

56

Rahul Dravid leaned on the railing of one of the training cages. Padded up, hands folded across his chest, he studiously turned his head to the left to watch Sachin Tendulkar face throwdowns. In the next instant, he tilted his neck to the opposite side to watch Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma bat in the other nets.

As Dravid shifted his attention, his mind would have gleaned as much as possible from observing both the old and the new. From Tendulkar's trademark punched drives to Kohli's reverse sweeps; from Tendulkar's wrist flick when tucking the ball to the leg side to Rohit's hoicked flick over square-leg. Dravid watched it all attentively.

Tomorrow he will play his first and last Twenty20 international. With injuries ruling out Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, and now Gautam Gambhir, and with Sachin Tendulkar opting not to play Twenty20 internationals, India have been forced to turn to Dravid to bolster their batting, which suddenly seems less formidable than the World Cup-winning line-up.

Dravid himself was surprised at his selection in the limited-overs squad. Perhaps he was a little bit hurt, too; about being kept in the dark, about not being consulted beforehand, about not being given due respect. On the same evening he announced his retirement from the shorter formats at the end of the England tour.

Just as they did in the Tests, India somehow find reassurance in Dravid's presence. Perhaps it is because he tends to be fluid, flexible, dynamic. The Twenty20 format is not alien to Dravid; he has played in all four editions of the IPL, and the two seasons of the Champions League. But how do you teach a renaissance painter abstract expressionism?

So Dravid continues to try and hit hard, run as fast as he can, play cross-batted strokes. In the nets today, he tried to slog sweep, but could not bring himself to do it convincingly and settled on a few occasions to play the paddle sweep. Dravid's method of playing flight is to lunge at and smother the spin elegantly with his wrists. Not for slog sweeps or hitting inside out over cover or mid-off.

After playing with hard hands during his brief innings at Hove in the rain-affected practice match against Sussex, Dravid improvised to produce a much calmer, more fluent 29 in the victory against Leicester in the Twenty20 on Monday.

He will be joined by Tendulkar during the one-day series. If the world champions are to avoid defeat in the ODIs, the success of this pair could be crucial. But how long can India rely on their old guard? At a time when teams like England are investing in specialist teams comprising youngsters and three different captains, the Indian board has stuck to the policy of milking its important players across all formats.

MS Dhoni has agreed that rotation would not be a bad idea for India and its players in the long term. "We will have to [adopt rotation] because the schedule looks quite cramped up," Dhoni said. "It is important to give some players the rest. It has more to do with the mental aspect than the physical one. A bit of good rest in between helps you to keep away the injuries that may happen if you keep on playing [without the break]."

But at the same time the BCCI has reiterated its stance about giving players the choice to opt out if and when they want to take a break. So if a Suresh Raina thinks he is exhausted after playing for months on the road, and needs a break, why does he not take one?

Raina is being groomed as a potential future captain, yet he has never been really assertive or consistent as a batsman. Despite having played 120 one-dayers, Raina perpetually struggles to perfect his technique.

Every coach who has managed India has had nothing but praise for Raina, from his work ethic to his talent. And yet he has found it difficult to take over the middle-order reins convincingly from the likes of Dravid and Tendulkar.

Raina's position in the team was questioned after each defeat in the Test series. The England fast bowlers put him to task in every innings and he was found susceptible to the short delivery on many occasions. He did not make much noise in the tour matches either. But Dhoni has always been of the firm belief that a player needs to be given the longest possible rope.

Fair enough. But India need the likes of Raina, Gambhir, Kohli and Rohit to calibrate their careers and not to exhaust themselves by playing too much cricket. The first three have been identified by some of best cricketing brains as potential leadership material. It is that much more important, then, that they be more responsible with their careers.

Dravid is a shining example. He paid attention to what was important and was not distracted by that which was not. Like today. As Kohli reverse-swept successfully and then Rohit failed attempting the same stroke, Dravid just looked away, slung his kit back across his shoulder, put his head down and walked out of the training. Tomorrow he will return, to do what he can.

straight hit , bro plz take into consideration the youngsters ,they can barely make runs , ofcourse dravids selection wasent wise but we need to show some fight which sadly the youngsters dont show, as far the performance he did fairly well.

Martin
on August 31, 2011, 18:01 GMT

@rchandar1 & @Mandavya; very very nicely put. I applaud you both.

Milind
on August 31, 2011, 17:01 GMT

India has been trying several youngsters since the last couple of years...so far nobody has come good! Dont' know what the problem is...maybe the expectations are high after having guys like Sachin, Dravid, Sehwag etc. They just have to keep on trying, I guess!

Steve
on August 31, 2011, 16:58 GMT

I absolutely see no justification for playing Dravid in T20. Is this supposed to be a 'Thank You' parting gift for him who already announced he is 'retiring' from ODIs and never played a T20 international until today?. What happens if he scores a quick 40/50 today?. Will he become the future then?. Ind think tank is clearly running on empty goals.

Sachin
on August 31, 2011, 16:46 GMT

@ Wacco: Good prediction, I agree.... we gave in too easily, it was really surprising to see this side of Indian cricket after a long long time, but beware of brushing our side so easily my friend. Every dog has its Day, it just happened to be England's summer.

Ranil
on August 31, 2011, 16:10 GMT

This is like lambs to slaughter,England will thump India with this team.I thought they would come here,with their No. one tag to outdo Jayasuriya's 5-0 drubbing to England but all the signs are things will go the opposite way.
Ranil Herath - Kent

Amjad
on August 31, 2011, 16:03 GMT

yea young guns whatever i seriously think there is still a chance BCCI can still make an excuse and hush hush their boys off English soil in one piece.

kan
on August 31, 2011, 15:34 GMT

indian players like Dhoni, Tendulkar, Gambhir, Sehwag, Zaheer, Bhajji, Ishant who are integral part of Indias test and OD team, should not play IPL, they should utilize that time to refresh their body, rather they are looking for quick short term money and ruining their long term career, they should skip IPL and CL

kan
on August 31, 2011, 15:31 GMT

their ought to be bigger salary for Test players than IPL, and it doesn't make any sense to pay such big money to indian domestic players in IPL, as they would play anyway regardless, such big money from IPL is spoiling indian young starts, all of them want to take the easy way and become good T20 player, noone is interested to take the hard way to become a great test player, IPL is profitable for BCCI but it is spoiling Indias future cricketers, IPL has to stop.

Dummy4
on August 31, 2011, 15:29 GMT

@Wacco: Eng is going to be white watched in T20 and ODIs. So your fear comes out and you are showering mud on India to hide that. You know India are the world champions in 50 over cricket. Despite you have T20 WC, you still fear India's T20 young brigade. We will take number 1 rank in test this year itself at any cost. Let see who will carry ICC test champions trophy this year.

Dummy4
on September 2, 2011, 6:27 GMT

straight hit , bro plz take into consideration the youngsters ,they can barely make runs , ofcourse dravids selection wasent wise but we need to show some fight which sadly the youngsters dont show, as far the performance he did fairly well.

Martin
on August 31, 2011, 18:01 GMT

@rchandar1 & @Mandavya; very very nicely put. I applaud you both.

Milind
on August 31, 2011, 17:01 GMT

India has been trying several youngsters since the last couple of years...so far nobody has come good! Dont' know what the problem is...maybe the expectations are high after having guys like Sachin, Dravid, Sehwag etc. They just have to keep on trying, I guess!

Steve
on August 31, 2011, 16:58 GMT

I absolutely see no justification for playing Dravid in T20. Is this supposed to be a 'Thank You' parting gift for him who already announced he is 'retiring' from ODIs and never played a T20 international until today?. What happens if he scores a quick 40/50 today?. Will he become the future then?. Ind think tank is clearly running on empty goals.

Sachin
on August 31, 2011, 16:46 GMT

@ Wacco: Good prediction, I agree.... we gave in too easily, it was really surprising to see this side of Indian cricket after a long long time, but beware of brushing our side so easily my friend. Every dog has its Day, it just happened to be England's summer.

Ranil
on August 31, 2011, 16:10 GMT

This is like lambs to slaughter,England will thump India with this team.I thought they would come here,with their No. one tag to outdo Jayasuriya's 5-0 drubbing to England but all the signs are things will go the opposite way.
Ranil Herath - Kent

Amjad
on August 31, 2011, 16:03 GMT

yea young guns whatever i seriously think there is still a chance BCCI can still make an excuse and hush hush their boys off English soil in one piece.

kan
on August 31, 2011, 15:34 GMT

indian players like Dhoni, Tendulkar, Gambhir, Sehwag, Zaheer, Bhajji, Ishant who are integral part of Indias test and OD team, should not play IPL, they should utilize that time to refresh their body, rather they are looking for quick short term money and ruining their long term career, they should skip IPL and CL

kan
on August 31, 2011, 15:31 GMT

their ought to be bigger salary for Test players than IPL, and it doesn't make any sense to pay such big money to indian domestic players in IPL, as they would play anyway regardless, such big money from IPL is spoiling indian young starts, all of them want to take the easy way and become good T20 player, noone is interested to take the hard way to become a great test player, IPL is profitable for BCCI but it is spoiling Indias future cricketers, IPL has to stop.

Dummy4
on August 31, 2011, 15:29 GMT

@Wacco: Eng is going to be white watched in T20 and ODIs. So your fear comes out and you are showering mud on India to hide that. You know India are the world champions in 50 over cricket. Despite you have T20 WC, you still fear India's T20 young brigade. We will take number 1 rank in test this year itself at any cost. Let see who will carry ICC test champions trophy this year.

vimal
on August 31, 2011, 15:01 GMT

@Wacco: Take your an English fan, accepted you guys won fair and square in the Test and thanks for your wishes for the ODI. But to say if we lose in cricket what will we play is a bit below the belt! If you have forgotten we are the WC something England has NEVER achieved.What about all the time you lost the ashes 5-0 back and forth? losing one tour away(even if we lose the ODI) India will NEVER be bad at cricket.Instead of talking about a sport where one has won it in way back 1966. We are happy to stick to one and try winning it from time to time. Maybe you England should just stick to Rugby.Good luck in NZ!

Vinod
on August 31, 2011, 14:53 GMT

To @Wacco... Thx for wishing us all the luck we need. Let me know which country u belong to, and I will honestly brush up ur memory with ur countries sporting history and acheivements...

Ravijot
on August 31, 2011, 14:38 GMT

we need players who can play in England and they should have known this fairly early on in the year. We need bowlers to support Zaheer. We need somebody to take the burden if Zaheer goes. How do we do that? We identify a pool of 10/20/30 players who are on stand by. Their physical fitness levels are good, their match practice is on going and they have been told that they can be called upon when needed. Incentivise these players with lucractive contracts so they don't feel like they are moppers cleaning up other people's mess. Introduce competitiveness in the local circuit to get into this pool of players, not in the playing 11. You cannot battle nature, but you can use science to create pitches/artificial turfs/wind condition to simulate those in England that treats this elite panel of players to bouncy pitches. Work on your weaknesses, but don't forget your strength. India's poor showing is as much BCCI's fault as is the players. Poor sods need an investment of confidence in them.

Dummy4
on August 31, 2011, 14:38 GMT

Good to see India giving a debut to that promising young 38 year old Dravid. I predict great things from him in the future.

Ravijot
on August 31, 2011, 14:33 GMT

The players have taken a lot of beating for the failures. Illnessess, injuries, un-match-fitness, poor concentration levels, unforeseen conditions with seaming ball, England at the top of their game have all contributed in their own way. The biggest single let down for me was BCCI. Mind, they are the ones who are Gods of the game in India, not Sachin Tendulkar. The board should have policies in place, to identify players that can play in T20s, ODIs and Tests. There is nothing wrong with having IPL. Nothing wrong with having a T20 tournament that rakes in more money than, quite possibly, the annual income of half of African nations combined. What's missing is a process. A plan. A detailed review of which players are going to play what. Let's face it, nobody dislikes money (in addition to pressures of their moolah laden owners), so you can expect Sehwag (and the likes) to play in IPL and not prepare for this test series. But the board should intervene and say, hold on...

H sachin
on August 31, 2011, 14:23 GMT

You cannot compare Rahul Dravids Era with the new Guns. In 1996 if there was an IPL. Who knows how things would've turned out altogether. Would we have been devoid of all these magical test batting performances by these magical batsmen ....

Surj
on August 31, 2011, 13:35 GMT

Here we go again. My prediction before the test series ( whitewash ) was on the money (though I did not expect that easy). The limited over cricket gives more chances to the lesser teams. So, India at last has some chance to put something on the 'win' column. So folks support your team and make the ODIs a little competitive. Its evident, your so called young guns lack the polish and are out of depth. Which game will you play, if you lose in cricket too? Anyway, its your problem - wish you all the luck you need!

Chandan
on August 31, 2011, 13:30 GMT

surprisingly, negatives about Dravid. that's the one T20 international in a career and he's made it clear it's not his preferred format. incidentally, he's not got the worst strike rate either, have a look, it's better than Rahane's, nearly as good as Gambhir's. i thought his announcement that he retires after this settled it.

Dummy4
on August 31, 2011, 13:29 GMT

@cric fan 108 did rahul dravid himself wanted to play t20 and odi he has been forced too

Rakesh
on August 31, 2011, 12:54 GMT

Why is BCCI ignoring Robin Utappa? Jadega again...........noooooooo

Rakesh
on August 31, 2011, 12:53 GMT

@Sankara - Rahane is there. Dravid with his big heart can say play Rahane instead of me. There is no Bravado in what dravid is doing. I am a mumbaikar too and was sick of seeing useless Vijay getting so many oppurtuities based on his just one IPLP exploit. God help indian team when a replacement for a opener has been named who is not an opener. Parthiv patel for gods sake is the only opener that they can find in the entire country to replace Viru. Ridiculous.

Vidyasagar
on August 31, 2011, 12:37 GMT

For Those who think that batting is all about slogging the balls without any respect to the ball or even to the bat(edging often n often shamelessly)..... ...
Dravidish way of playing the game is just too complex for the newly formed childish T-20 cric fans to make out and digest..........
and in a country where a ruthless test series loss can easily be shadowed or forgotten by a lucky T-20 victory .....;-)
This is the time to recall those artistic innings by "The Renaissance Painter"(as mentoined ) which revolutionised the way of scoring runs fiercely of the white ball without disturbing the game's Class....

Dummy4
on August 31, 2011, 12:16 GMT

@CricFan108 Dravid is great lover of country. He plays for INDIA and not for his personnel records unlike SRTendulkar. Many a time SRT have shown his personnel interest. In englan when first sewag and latter Gautam was injure, Dravid accepted to OPEN for india. SRT even did not agreed to come at#3(he stick to his #4 when ball is OLD). Now again Dravid has accepted T20 for the country.

puneet
on August 31, 2011, 12:14 GMT

Enough of Dravid- Leave the poor guy alone- As SANKARA said he is just doing this because he was requested by BCCI to provide solidarity at the other end because no one seems to be staying longer than 10 overs----So people keep your critical views to yourself- Just admire Rahul for being so humble and honest about things- He immediately announced retirement from ODI's once he heard about his selection because he has no desire to pursue these formats anymore-At 37+ age he is still fitter than a lot of younger folks in the side---SWITCHING THE TOPIC NOW---CAN ANYONE PLEASE TELL ME THAT WHY" ROBIN UTHAPPA" NEVER GETS A SECOND CHANCE TO PROVE HIMSELF EVEN THOUGH SOME OF THE MOST SLUGGISH PLAYERS INCLUDING RP SINGH,ETC KEEP GETTING OPPORTUNITIES DAY IN AY OUT? I THINK ROBIN IS A TALENTED CRICKETER? WHAT YOU ALL THINK OF THAT???

Sankara
on August 31, 2011, 11:42 GMT

Cricfan 108 seems to have a chip on his shoulder about RD. The player himself did not want to be playing in this format which is why he announced his retirement immediately, after being selected forhis deut. So he is playing this match only because he has been requested to. Honestly, I dont think RD will make a difference in this match with his batting, but we must admire him for playing this when he does not want to but is doning it only because the country. sorry BCCI, has no further options.
I hope Kohi does well- the boy has spunk. Rohit has the talent but as a Mumbaikar I must say that he lacks the grit and will to fight-which is why he gets fat like RP Singh at the smallest break in schedule. Discipline is a virture these jokers hve not heard of. Yet Rohit will probably score well, riding his talent, (and that's my lament) just imagine what he could have done with discipline of erstwhile Mumbai cricketers. Willing to stick my neck out- India will win this one :-)

Raj
on August 31, 2011, 10:46 GMT

Yes Dhoni. Long rope should be given to crop like Raina. Because he is ..... But not far Tiwary, Puraja, Badri & Rhanae. do whatever u like, but before building good middle order, india might loose many matches like this. Oh there is an idea, put matches in india, then Raina can score 100.

Dummy4
on August 31, 2011, 10:26 GMT

Don't worry about our players...they will all be fit before the champions league and join the injury list after the tournament...

Dummy4
on August 31, 2011, 10:05 GMT

"Tomorrow he will play his first and last Twenty20 international. With injuries ruling out Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, and now Gautam Gambhir, and with Sachin Tendulkar opting not to play Twenty20 internationals, India have been forced to turn to Dravid to bolster their batting" - Dravid and Sachin announced their retirement from IT20 in 2007; but Dravid came out (or was asked to come out) of retirement for the team, not Sachin - interesting.

Pritthijit
on August 31, 2011, 9:30 GMT

The Indian team is filled with injuries, as many key players have returned home. I think it is time for Indian players and BCCI to realise what is important. A vast majority would love to see Indian perform well on the international stage, but not going to happen unless the priorities and focus of Indian cricket are sorted out. It is good though youngsters are emerging in Indian cricket in ODI, but they should not be exposed with too much cricket as they will lose their appetite to play competitive cricket as the England series highlights. The T20 is great entertainment, but must not dominate Indian cricket as it boost a proud history of producing of world class players and this will put in jeopardy if Indian cricket does not sort themselves out. They are good at ODI and 20-20, but most not lose the desire to perform well in test cricket as it promotes quality and substance. Test cricket is much more important than ODI and 20-20.

Sarthak
on August 31, 2011, 9:27 GMT

Dravid did a fair enough job for Rajasthan Royals opening for them also its just 1 match that to t20 so one shouldnt read much in to it. What i am interested in is where will he play in the odi's at his fav no3 open with sachin or at no.4 because any lower down the order would b an insult to the class of dravid. I guess we will have to wait and see. @davidpk: if u see him play in IPL ( im sure u have better things to do) u will see he scores quickly playing the more classy shots not very unlike kallis or tendulkar

@cric_follower- its because SRT said he wants youngsters to play it while dravid still thinks he is 21 and wants to play it.

Rakesh
on August 31, 2011, 9:11 GMT

@cric_follower- its because SRT said he wants youngsters to play it while dravid still thinks he is 21 and wants to play it.

Rakesh
on August 31, 2011, 9:10 GMT

Dravid should step down and let Rahane play instead but given his approach so far he will keep his place without thinking about the greater good. He is horrible in this format/

Rakesh
on August 31, 2011, 9:10 GMT

Dravid should step down and let Rahane play instead but given his approach so far he will keep his place without thinking about the greater good. He is horrible in this format/

Dummy4
on August 31, 2011, 8:30 GMT

Excellent post , I really think some times Dravid plays shots he never should never play in t20's , from the time he has started playing ipl , he has been innovative for sure , with the hoike over mid wicket but he has also started fishing out side the off stump!

ankur
on August 31, 2011, 8:27 GMT

The articles around here gives me a feeling that since India lost to Eng, they are now expected to lose every match....

We are talking about World champions dude....

Ashutosh
on August 31, 2011, 7:31 GMT

I wish you luck Dravid, we know you enjoy every game you play. Really wonder how does the veteran feel about his first and last T20 game for India. Equally excited about Ajinkya Rahane and Parthiv Patel. Parthiv ofcourse has been there and seen it all. Honestly I felt Parthiv would never come back after his stint 7-8 years back and Dhoni firmly rooted in the wk's slot. And looking forward to the new english faces... But I still remain a fan of test matches.

Dummy4
on August 31, 2011, 7:24 GMT

If Dhoni wants to give players a long rope then why did badri only get 2 test matches and a handful of ODI"s???

Dummy4
on August 31, 2011, 7:10 GMT

I dont understand this "Oh, I am so tired, I cannot play all three formats"... Players such as Stuart Broad and Michael Clarke have opted out of playing the IPL to concentrate on their international commitments. Not a single Indian player has done so. If Raina and Dhoni are so desperately tired let them opt out of the Champions League. If Gambhir is injured let him sit that out and concentrate on the Australia Tour... and if the players do not (or the Board does not allow them to) .. then its obvious they do not care about the international game... and India will get the results it deserves... What the players and the BCCI should remember though that it is India's international success that has led to the popularity of the IPL, and not vice versa

rohit sharma is the most talented batsmen in india we have had enough of raina he just doesnt want to learn kholi and sharma are future of india

John
on August 31, 2011, 3:05 GMT

A single T20 is basically meaningless. One good innings from any of the batsmen can decide it. Even though England are World Champions, I have to say that I hate the format. It requires none of the qualities that I like about cricket- patience, concentration, strategy, technique. Hand/eye co-ordination and negative bowling with no close fielders are all that is required. It's a less skilful version of baseball. Thank goodness we're not being subjected to a bunch of these tawdry affairs.

Dummy4
on August 31, 2011, 3:00 GMT

Hi davidpk, dont worry about the selection of Dravid for one off series. Just to satisfy us India team fans and followers, selectors took this decision to try and somehow win any matches during this tour remainder. Nothing else. If India wins and fans are happy, everything will be back to normal in Indian cricket

Dummy4
on August 31, 2011, 1:25 GMT

We should not make lot of fuss that Dravid will be playing T20.As he has already said that he will be retiring from the shorter versions of the game.There are lot of T20 matches to be played in future.Let him play and show the world that he can play it well even at 38.Best wishes for him and the team.

Asker
on August 31, 2011, 0:10 GMT

I dont know how and why, what every coach says about Raina and Rohit, maybe Raina has good work ethic, but defnitely not technically correct and maybe he can improve but definitely not Rohit.
Virat is a quick learner and i believe he will be permanent member of the team on all formats.

Dummy4
on August 31, 2011, 0:06 GMT

Cpt.Meanster

Why do you believe that India's bowling is better than England's?
The evidence in the test series is that England's bowlers where considerably better than their Indian counterparts. At least 3 of the test attack will play in the T20 and ODI's and quite possibly 4 in the ODI's. While on paper India's batting is stronger than England's I suspect the need to risks against more a more potent attack in different conditions could negate this advantage.
I think that we are in for a very tight series and think it is too close to call.

david
on August 30, 2011, 23:01 GMT

i cannot fatham out why dravid is playing t20, not that i dont think he will do a job. but the guys 37 years old and to my knowledge hes never been asked to play this format. were abouts are u going to field him slips could all be of 2 bowls before a field change .god bless him what he has to do or forced to do for his country. he the classiest batter in the side and to ask him to do the flash bang whollop of t20. dpk

Shahid
on August 30, 2011, 22:37 GMT

India is going backwards and the inclusion of Dravid in the T20 and One day shows the lack of bench talent in India. It's a shame for such a huge country.

Srinivas
on August 30, 2011, 21:36 GMT

I have no doubt that Dravid will come out with flying colours. He is immensely talented and skilfull and so can succeed in any format. Only question is, is this team good enough to win against the English? I would prefer Rahane over Raina. Rahane is a complete batsman with no glaring weaknesses. Also, Dinesh Karthik should have walked into this team on any day.

harsha
on August 30, 2011, 21:22 GMT

DRAVID @T20 International. Excited to see. Format is not new for him. I wish him all the best and make his one match presence a good learning curve for the youngster's.
May be I am excited to say a good amount of runs by beating his heighest score of 75NO in tomorrow's match. Let's see.

Jay
on August 30, 2011, 21:01 GMT

India WILL do very well in the T20 and the ODIs. I have no doubt they can win the limited overs component of this tour. They are better than England in almost every department except probably the fielding. However, I am concerned about India's test match capability. India will always be a champion one day and T20 side but test cricket needs different skills and attitude. I hope a victory in the one day series doesn't fade away the CANCER plaguing Indian test cricket.

pushpinder
on August 30, 2011, 20:54 GMT

This English tour has been nothing but disgrace for the Indian Cricket so far, and now we need Dravid for the T20 match as well i mean c'mon when there is so much talk of bringing in the young talent why do we need to ask Dravid to play T20's

Prem
on August 30, 2011, 20:44 GMT

T20 is a reality that Kohli and Rohit cannot shy away from. Hoping they play the kind of cricket Dravid played throughout his career is just wishful. Raina isn't, and will never be good enough for Test cricket, he can enjoy ODI's more than T20s, though. Gautam is the same age as Dhoni, so putting him up as the next captain doesn't make any sense to me. Kohli has time on his side, and is supposed to work hard at this stage of his career for him to be the ideal go-to man for India during the next decade, while Rohit has to be very careful to not throw his talent away. He needs to cultivate the hunger, cos he's a natural born batsman. The future looks alright for India, mediocrity in results like those in the 90s beckon.

Aditya
on August 30, 2011, 20:44 GMT

Seriously why is Tendulkar not playing this T20 and Dravid is? Makes no sense even if the little master has said he will not play this format internationally. If Dravid can then Tendulkar should..

Martin
on August 30, 2011, 20:32 GMT

Odd article - which reads as if india have no hope in the forthcoming shorter formats and that Dravid resigned to the inevitable. I wonder if the indian team players actually talk to each other? I liked the "But Dhoni has always been of the firm belief that a player needs to be given the longest possible rope." comment. I would wonder what is the difference between a long rope - and none at all?

No featured comments at the moment.

Martin
on August 30, 2011, 20:32 GMT

Odd article - which reads as if india have no hope in the forthcoming shorter formats and that Dravid resigned to the inevitable. I wonder if the indian team players actually talk to each other? I liked the "But Dhoni has always been of the firm belief that a player needs to be given the longest possible rope." comment. I would wonder what is the difference between a long rope - and none at all?

Aditya
on August 30, 2011, 20:44 GMT

Seriously why is Tendulkar not playing this T20 and Dravid is? Makes no sense even if the little master has said he will not play this format internationally. If Dravid can then Tendulkar should..

Prem
on August 30, 2011, 20:44 GMT

T20 is a reality that Kohli and Rohit cannot shy away from. Hoping they play the kind of cricket Dravid played throughout his career is just wishful. Raina isn't, and will never be good enough for Test cricket, he can enjoy ODI's more than T20s, though. Gautam is the same age as Dhoni, so putting him up as the next captain doesn't make any sense to me. Kohli has time on his side, and is supposed to work hard at this stage of his career for him to be the ideal go-to man for India during the next decade, while Rohit has to be very careful to not throw his talent away. He needs to cultivate the hunger, cos he's a natural born batsman. The future looks alright for India, mediocrity in results like those in the 90s beckon.

pushpinder
on August 30, 2011, 20:54 GMT

This English tour has been nothing but disgrace for the Indian Cricket so far, and now we need Dravid for the T20 match as well i mean c'mon when there is so much talk of bringing in the young talent why do we need to ask Dravid to play T20's

Jay
on August 30, 2011, 21:01 GMT

India WILL do very well in the T20 and the ODIs. I have no doubt they can win the limited overs component of this tour. They are better than England in almost every department except probably the fielding. However, I am concerned about India's test match capability. India will always be a champion one day and T20 side but test cricket needs different skills and attitude. I hope a victory in the one day series doesn't fade away the CANCER plaguing Indian test cricket.

harsha
on August 30, 2011, 21:22 GMT

DRAVID @T20 International. Excited to see. Format is not new for him. I wish him all the best and make his one match presence a good learning curve for the youngster's.
May be I am excited to say a good amount of runs by beating his heighest score of 75NO in tomorrow's match. Let's see.

Srinivas
on August 30, 2011, 21:36 GMT

I have no doubt that Dravid will come out with flying colours. He is immensely talented and skilfull and so can succeed in any format. Only question is, is this team good enough to win against the English? I would prefer Rahane over Raina. Rahane is a complete batsman with no glaring weaknesses. Also, Dinesh Karthik should have walked into this team on any day.

Shahid
on August 30, 2011, 22:37 GMT

India is going backwards and the inclusion of Dravid in the T20 and One day shows the lack of bench talent in India. It's a shame for such a huge country.

david
on August 30, 2011, 23:01 GMT

i cannot fatham out why dravid is playing t20, not that i dont think he will do a job. but the guys 37 years old and to my knowledge hes never been asked to play this format. were abouts are u going to field him slips could all be of 2 bowls before a field change .god bless him what he has to do or forced to do for his country. he the classiest batter in the side and to ask him to do the flash bang whollop of t20. dpk

Dummy4
on August 31, 2011, 0:06 GMT

Cpt.Meanster

Why do you believe that India's bowling is better than England's?
The evidence in the test series is that England's bowlers where considerably better than their Indian counterparts. At least 3 of the test attack will play in the T20 and ODI's and quite possibly 4 in the ODI's. While on paper India's batting is stronger than England's I suspect the need to risks against more a more potent attack in different conditions could negate this advantage.
I think that we are in for a very tight series and think it is too close to call.

ABOUT COOKIES

We use cookies to help make this website better, to improve our services and for advertising purposes. You can learn more about our use of cookies and change your browser settings in order to avoid cookies by clicking here. Otherwise, we'll assume you are OK to continue.